Is the root word of leadership a leader?

The root is "lead" (as in "to lead"). The suffixes -er and -ship have been added.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=leader&searchmode=none

Yes, you're right.

Yes, the root word of "leadership" is indeed "leader." The root word represents the basic building block or core meaning of a word.

To determine the root word of a word such as "leadership," you can isolate the main part of the word that carries the central meaning. In this case, the central part is "lead," which refers to guiding or directing others.

By removing the suffix "-ship," which is a common way of forming nouns indicating a state or condition, we are left with the root word "lead," which means to show the way or guide others.

So, in summary, the root word of "leadership" is "lead," which is connected to the concept of being a leader.